The California Transportation Commission approved $2.7 billion for 64 projects across the state, with more than $660 million bound for the Bay Area.
About 25% will come from the new state gas tax, if it is not repealed in November, and other fees approved last year. The gas tax and other new fees are expected to bring in $52 billion over the next decade. Without those funds, transportation officials say many improvements would remain in limbo for years.
Some of the major projects green-lighted by the commission include $351 million to add express lanes on U.S. 101 from CA-237 to I-380; rebuild the 101/237 interchange at Mathilda Avenue; begin plans for new ramps at 101/25 south of Gilroy; widen the Marin-Sonoma Narrows bottleneck; and fund a pilot express bus line on 101 in San Mateo County. The 101 express lane work is expected to be under design this summer. The 64 miles of toll/carpool lanes could open in the summer of 2021.
In the East Bay, the notorious I-680/CA-4 interchange in Contra Costa County could be under construction in September with an opening in late 2021. Crews will build a three-level interchange with two-lane ramps and widen CA-4 from four to six lanes. And millions are earmarked for road changes feeding into the Port of Oakland.
Other Bay Area and Northern California projects getting state approval include: $19 million for the Imjin Parkway on the Monterey Peninsula to be widened to four lanes, and $164 million for Caltrain to speed up fully electrifying the fleet and to provide on-board Wi-Fi.
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Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel
